Saving The Ranch
by DMandNCISFan
Summary: The A-Team are hired to help a small family ranch. Their mission seems relatively straight forward, but when it comes to the A-Team, can anything really go completely according to plan?
1. Prologue

**Saving The Ranch**

By DMandNCISFan

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the A-Team or the characters.

**Warnings: **None

**Summary: **The A-Team are hired to help a small family ranch. Their mission seems relatively straight forward, but when it comes to the A-Team, can anything really go completely according to plan?

**Prologue**

The warm afternoon sun shone down as the cattle grazed nonchalantly. Stirring only when two barking dogs, a Border Collie and a black tricolour Australian Shepard, came running playfully past them. The cows watched them momentarily, before going back to their grazing.

The Australian Shepard chased the Collie past a small house and over towards two men, who were working. The older man, who had grey-white hair, and was average height and built leant on his shovel, and looked over at the dogs, which were now rolling around on the grass, play fighting.

He shook his head, 'Some working dogs they're turning out to be.'

The younger man stuck his shovel into the ground and stretched his back, wiping his brow with the back of his hand, he looked down at the smaller man, 'I don't know Jerry, they certainly got enough energy.'

'Energy don't mean squat on it's own, you gotta put it to good use.' Jerry replied, 'Y'all have made em too soft, all that stroking and playing with em.' He shot an accusing look at the younger man.

'Hey, don't look at me,' the younger man ran a hand through his thick brown hair; 'Janise and Timmy are the ones who take care of the dogs.'

'Oh yeah, speakin of which, when's that daughter of mine spose be getting back Bill?'

Bill took a look at his watch, 'Janise shouldn't be too long now.'

'Good, there's work that needs doin, this ranch ain't gonna run itself you know.'

'Yeah, hey, what-a-you know.' Bill smiled, nodding towards a light blue car that was driving through the gates.

'About time!' was all the older man said in response.

A woman, in her earlier thirties, who looked slightly younger than Bill got out of the car. Her long blond hair bounced up and down as she ran over to the two men, a grim expression on her face.

'Greys men are on their way!' She warned them.

'Dammit! Not again!' Bill glared at two trucks that could be seen in the distance, which were heading towards them.

'Get inside Janise.' Jerry ordered.

'No!' She shrieked, insubordinately, 'This is getting ridiculous!'

'Do as your Pa says Janise!' Bill put his hands on her shoulders, ushering her towards the house. She huffed and stormed through the door.

'You're not welcome here!' Jerry shouted as they pulled up, getting out of their cars.

'Yeah, we already said all we wanted to say the last time you barged in here, we weren't gonna give this ranch up to you then, and we sure as hell ain't gonna give it up now!' Bill stood beside Jerry, 'So if y'all don't mind, we'd like you to get the heck off our property!'

'Aww, that's too bad.' A tall man with dark hair stepped forward, 'It'd be a real shame if that pretty lady of yours got hurt, but, accidents do happen.'

'Don't you dare come near my wife!' Bill pointed his finger aggressively at the man.

'You had better leave my daughter out of this!'

'Well you just hand over this ranch then!'

'You ain't getting it, and the sooner y'all get it through your thick skulls, the better!' Jerry barked, moving in closer to the men.

'You're gonna wish you hadn't said that old man!' the tall man growled as he punched Jerry in the face. Bill made a grab for him as he stumbled backwards.

'What sort of scum are you?' Bill spat, as he got a cloth out of his pocket wiping the blood from the small cut next to Jerry's eye.

Everyone stopped dead in their tracks at the sound of a shotgun going off, 'The next one won't miss, now get the hell out of here!' Janise ordered shakily, shotgun in hand.

'Y'all had better get off our land!' Bill ordered. The men just shrugged.

'Alright, but we'll be back!'

Bill took the shotgun from Janise.

'What the heck did you think you where doin?' Jerry tried to push himself up, 'You shouldn't play with guns, they're dangerous!'

'You ok Jerry?' Bill helped him up.

'I wasn't playing, I got rid of em didn't I, which is more than can be said for you too!' Janise gave Jerry a concerned look, 'You ok?'

'I'm fine.' Jerry brushed Bills hands off himself 'Got lucky that's all, caught me off guard! The hell if he thinks a little hit like that is gonna get him this ranch though!'

'Oh Pa, why'd you always have to be so stubborn!'

'Listen, your grandpa owned this ranch before me, and your great grandpa before him. Hell, this here ranch has been in are family for generations, and I'm damned if I'm gonna let some low life take it away from us!'

'So, what? You think its worth dying over?'

'Course it is!'

'Your Pa's right, we can't let Grey walk all over us.'

'Maybe a few years ago I'd have agreed, but we've got a child now, how do you think it's gunna effect poor Timmy if one of you get yourselves killed huh? How do you think he'll feel if he has to grow up without his Daddy?'

A young boy ran up to them and put his arms around Janise's waist.

'Mommy, them bad men were here again weren't they?' She nodded, 'Why'd they hurt Grandpa?'

'Hurt me? They didn't hurt me, just a lil' scratch s'all.' Jerry winked and patted Timmy on the head. The boy smiled, 'Uh oh, oh no, what's this?' Jerry started to wiggle his fingers, 'Oh no, looks like my fingers have turned to ticklers, run Timmy, run, before it's too late!'

'Oh no!' Timmy giggled, running away from Jerry, who had his arms stretched out, still wiggling his fingers, chasing Timmy.

'Oh Pa, be careful!' Janise warned, unable to hide the smile from her face.

'I know you're right, about Timmy, but it's so unfair, why should we let some low life like Frederick Grey ruin our lives?' Bill moaned, 'Cus lets face it, he kills us for this or we give this to him, either way it'll ruin our lives!' The sound of Timmy's laugher and gleeful screams as he and Jerry played could be heard in the distance.

Janise sighed, 'I know, and look at Timmy, he loves it here so much, he'd hate it if we moved!'

'Exactly.'

'We need help!' Janise curled her hair thoughtfully.

'Ahhh, whose gunna wanna help folks like us?' Jerry joined in as he and Timmy walked back over to them.

'Hmmm, I think I've heard of group who might!' Janise smiled, a hint of hope in here voice.

* * *

**TBC… **


	2. Chapter One: Up To The Ranch

**Chapter One: Up To The Ranch**

Janise slammed her car door shut, looking at the fast food restaurant in front of her. She glanced at a small piece of paper in her hand and walked into the building. People brushed past her as she made her way to the counter.

'Lines over there lady.' A man with glasses on and a large nose pointed to a long line of hungry customers, 'You wanna eat, you gotta get in line!'

'Oh, I've not come here to eat, I was told to meet somebody here.' She passed him a piece of paper, 'See, can you ask around for me, it's important.'

'Listen lady, this is a fast food joint, not a meet and greet, we serve food here, not people.'

'Oh, must of got the wrong place, nevermind.' She sighed, walking away.

'Hey wait!' Janise turned back and the man lifted up a take out bag, 'You forgot your food.'

'But I didn't order anything.'

'Ahh well, too late now, can't put it back.' The man huffed, 'On the house then.'

'No, it's ok, I'd prefer to pay.' Janise passed him some money.

'Ok, I ain't gonna stop you.' He passed her the bag of food.

She walked away again, glancing down at the bag. There seemed to be something written on the back, she tipped the bag over slightly, whispering the words, 'You've just hired the A-Team, meet us out back, come alone.' She looked back at the counter, the man who was previously there was now replaced by a middle aged woman.

Janise hurried out and round to the back of the building just in time to see Hannibal take off his disguise, Face and BA stood at either side of him. 'So you're the A-Team?'

'Yes, I'm Hannibal Smith, this is Templeton Peck, or Face as we call him and this is BA Baracus.'

'Hi.' Face smiled, BA just nodded.

'Hi, I'm Janise. You guys sure don't make it easy to hire you.'

'Well, we have to be cautious.' Hannibal shrugged.

'Yeah, I can see that.'

'So Mr Lee said that you was having some trouble with people wanting to buy your ranch?' Face asked.

'Yes, a few weeks ago this guy, Frederick Grey, fancies himself as some sorta business tycoon type, well anyway, he wants to build a whole lot of shopping facilities around Texas, and he's decided that our ranch would be a perfect place to build one of em.' She folded her arms, 'Well, he came up to the ranch with all these fancy papers, asking my Pa to sign em, my Pa told him no, told him to take is business elsewhere, and well, apparently Grey doesn't like to take no for an answer, so ever since that day he's done nothin but caused trouble for our whole family!'

'Sounds like a real nice guy.' Hannibals voice held more than a little sarcasm.

'Tell me about it, now listen, we came up with as much money as we could, it's not all there, but it's enough to get you to Texas.'

'How much is not enough?' Face raised an eyebrow.

'Half.'

'Half?' Face turned to Hannibal, muttering, 'I dunno Hannibal, I mean, if they don't come up with the rest we'll be working for nothing.'

'Hey, we'll come up with the money, please, you gotta help us, if you don't we'll have no choice but to give up the ranch, and that's our home, I've lived there all my life, I've got a family to think about and everything.'

The three men whispered amongst themselves, then Hannibal turned to face Janise, 'Ok, I think we can make an exception, all things considered, do you have the money with you?'

'Yeah, it's in my car.'

'Great' Hannibal grinned.

'Well, I've gotta fly back tonight, are y'all gonna join me?'

'I ain't flyin Hannibal.'

'No, we'll fly out first thing tomorrow morning.'

'I said I ain't flyin Hannibal!'

'Yeah, I know.' Hannibal smiled at BA.

'Something wrong?' Janise asked.

'No everything's fine.' Hannibal turned his smile to Janise

'Ok then, well I tell you what, you should be arriving in the afternoon, so I'll pick you up from the airport ok.' Janise walked away, 'I'll go get the money and then I'll have to be going.' Janise walked away.

'Ok, after she gives us the money we'll grab our stuff and then swing by the VA tonight so you can get Murdock, ok Face.' Hannibal got in the van.

Face groaned as he and BA did the same.

'What's wrong lieutenant?'

'Nothing Colonel, I just remembered that the last time I broke Murdock out I told him that he could come up with the scam this time.'

Hannibal put a cigar in between his teeth, 'Hahaha.' He laughed; his eyes sparkled mockingly at the disgruntled look of the younger man. Janise returned seconds later with the money.

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

'Although, he could be in quarantine for up to a week, you can never tell with these things.' Face said to a pretty redheaded nurse, as they both came round the corner and down the hall of the psychiatric wing of the V.A hospital.

'Quarantine, why doctor?'

'Well, you don't want him out in the open do you?' Face looked quizzically at the nurse, who shook her head, which seemed to be more out of sheer confusion than negativity, 'I've heard about this patients frequent escapes, who knows what could happen if he's out and about unattended to in the state he's in. How many people might he attack, how many would they attack, etcetera, etcetera, I'm telling you, a few brains start getting consumed, and the next thing you know, you've got an epidemic on your hands. Now tell me, have there been any decaying folk inquiring about brains around here lately?'

'Brains?' The nurse stood still, shock evident on her face. She looked over at Face, who was still walking, realising she should be doing the same thing, she picked up her pace to catch up to the handsome doctor, calling after him, 'Dr Brendmer, Mr Murdock is just delusional, this happens all the time, well maybe not always to this extent, but still…'

Face cut her off, 'And what if you are wrong, hmmm, what then?' He demanded, 'Are you willing to put everybody's life at risk just because you refuse to believe anything other than the ordinary?'

'Well no, b-but.' She stuttered nervously.

Face placed his arm around her shoulders, talking softly and flashing her a charismatic smile, 'I wouldn't be doing this unless it was completely necessary, you know that, right?'

'Of course.' She was now completely fooled by Face's charm, 'Mr Murdock's room is just over there.' The nurse pointed to a door with two orderlies standing outside.

'Right, thanks.' Face, followed by the nurse made his way to Murdocks room.

'How is he?' She asked.

'Still goin on about needin brains.' The older of the two orderlies reported.

'Brains huh,' Face stroked his chin thoughtfully, 'well, that's certainly one of the signs.'

'Signs?' The nurse asked nervously.

'Yes, the need to feed on brains, bleeding, decaying skin, that sort of thing.' He pointed to the door, 'Do you mind if I go in and get a look for myself?'

'No.' The older orderly unlocked Murdocks door and then started to walk away, 'He's all yours, I've had all the Halloween hocus pocus I can handle for one night.'

Face shook his head as he began to open the door the Murdocks room, 'If only people would be more open minded, then cases like these would be contained at a much more manageable degree. Well, I guess one mustn't dwell, after all, I've go a patient to attend to' Face stepped inside the room, then turned back briefly, 'Oh, and if you hear me scream, bring in the crucifix!'

The nurse stepped forward, 'But isn't that vam-' Face shut the door, 'pires' She sighed, an edgy expression on her face.

On the other side of the door Face was trying desperately not to burst out laughing after getting his first look at his friend.

Murdock was stood on his bed with his arms stretched out, looking as though a tiger had attacked him with the state his clothes were in. His already messy hair was messier than ever, sticking out in every direction possible and his wonderful self made costume was really topped off with a pair of glowing fangs.

'Um, interesting interpretation of a zombie look Murdock.' Face stifled a laugh, then coughed, trying to compose himself.

Murdock slowly walked towards him, each step looking stiffer than the last, 'Braaaiiinnns.' He moaned, 'Need braaaaiiii-' He grabbed hold of Face's head, ruffling his hair.

Face pushed Murdock away, 'Would you cut that out!' He fixed his hair, dodging away from Murdock who was still trying to get to his brain, 'By the way, where did you get the fangs?'

'I got em from a store in Seattle.' Murdock's voice suddenly held no zombie like moan, 'Remember that mission we had there the other month?'

'Ah yes, how could I forget Shannon and Deborah, so beautiful, and cousins too.' Face looked on dreamily.

'Everything alright in there?' The orderly called out from the corridor.

The sudden question snapped Face out of his mesmerised state, 'Yes, everything's fine.' He looked over at Murdock sceptically, 'Why did you buy fangs?'

'For a rainy day of course, you never know when you're gonna need some fangs Face.'

'Riiiiight,' Face dragged the word out, 'I can only imagine the endless amount of uses a person could have for some plastic, glowing vampire fangs.'

'Exactly, I coulda been giving away another organ if it wasn't for these babies.' Murdock grabbed his blue cap, 'And they're zombie teeth Face, not vampire.'

'Yeah of course, cus I'm sure there a huge difference between vampire and zombie fangs.' Face rolled his eyes.

'Yeah, there is, you see with Zom-'

Face raised a hand, 'Murdock as much as I'd love to hear your lecture on the teeth of the undead I'm afraid now's not the time, BA and Hannibal are waiting for us.' Face opened the curtain slightly, causing Murdock to let out an agonising scream. The door began to open.

'I said if I screamed!' Face shouted out, an apology was muttered as the door closed once again. Face looked down at Murdock, who was knelt on the floor, head in his hands. 'Murdock, what are you doing?'

'The light, the light, I can't stands the light!' He clawed desperately at the floor, 'I can feel my body crumbling, soon I will be nothing but ash.'

'Murdock, it's three thirty in the morning.'

'Oh.' Murdock replied, looking through the small gap in the curtains. He stood up.

'Besides, isn't it vampires who turn to ash in the daylight?'

Murdock grabbed a holdall from under his bed, 'I'm pretty sure zombies do too Faceman, I mean, have you ever seen a zombie walking the streets in the daytime?'

'Murdock, I've never seen zombies walking about full stop.' Face sighed when Murdock pointed meaningfully to his zombiefied self, 'Come on, we'd better go.'

'Righteo Faceguy.' Murdock put his brown 'Da Nang' Jacket on over his torn t-shirt.

'Do you wanna get changed first?'

Murdock shook his head, 'No, I'm good.'

'Right…' Face told one of the nurses to grab a wheelchair, got them to sign the release papers and wheeled Murdock out of the hospital. They ditched the wheelchair and made their way to where Hannibal and BA were waiting. They quickly got into the back of the van, closing the doors behind them.

'We're all set.'

With Face's words BA started up the van. He gave Murdock a quick glance as they started to drive away, sighing heavily 'He's wearing plastic fangs Hannibal.'

'I know.'

'They're glowin.'

'Yeah.'

BA rolled his eyes and let out a groan. He could tell he wasn't going to like this one.

'They were part of the scam to swing him from the hospital, he's a zombie.' Face's explanation confirmed BA's feelings.

Hannibal looked at Face, raising an eyebrow, 'But you're not at the hospital anymore.'

'Try telling that to the living dead other there.'

'Braaaiiiins!' The Captains zombiefied moan returned, 'Need brains, dawn is coming, must feast before the sun is a risen high in the sky!'

Face gave his friend a satirical smile, 'Before the sun is a risen?'

'Hungry Captain?'

'I sure am Colonel, we got anything to eat?'

'No.' Hannibal looked at his watch, 'We'll stop off at an all night diner on the way.'

'Thanks Colonel, I wonder if they'll be serving human brains or animal brains.' Murdock leaned over BA's shoulder anxiously, 'Hey, step on it big guy, I wanna get there before it gets light' the lanky man gulped nervously 'and I fry!'

'Shut up fool, you ain't no undead monster!' BA groaned.

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A red light shone on BA's van as the word 'Diner' lit up above the quaint building.

Inside, the A-Team, apart from Murdock who was pacing tensely up and down, were sat at the counter, eating a very earlier breakfast.

'Murdock stop worrying and sit back down.' Hannibal ordered gently, in a tone he seldom used for anyone but his eccentric Captain. 'Now finish off your food.'

'Yeah, but what if I try and suck the brains out of our clients, or, or, the animals?'

'Only thing you'll be suckin is your food from a straw if you don't shut up with all this zombie rap!'

Murdock was about to answer back, but Face stopped him, whispering, 'I'd do what he says if I were you Murdock, unless you wanna experience the full force of his bad attitude.'

Murdock sulkily got back on his seat, digging into his breakfast once again. He picked up a bottle of tomato sauce that was in front of him and squeezed it hard, causing a dollop of red sauce to land on BA's lap. Hannibal and Face both shared an amused glance as BA shot up from his seat, making a grab for the culprit, who wore an innocent looking expression on his face.

'Fool, look what you done!' BA made a grab for his throat.

'BA…..c-c-can't….bre…'

Seeing that his Captain was now struggling for breath, Hannibal decided it was time to put a stop it. Grabbing hold of BA's hand, trying desperately not to let his amusement show, he reasoned, 'Now come on BA, you know that was an accident, let him go.'

BA grudgingly did as he was told, 'I'll be back in a minute.' He shot Murdock a look before making his way to the restroom.

Murdock looked at Hannibal and Face, a sly smile on his face as Hannibal got BA's 'nighty night' drug out of his pocket, pouring it onto his Sergeants dinner.

'He ain't _not_ gettin on no plane!' Murdock grinned, imitating his friend. H

annibal and Face chuckled, but stopped instantly as BA returned. All three of them quietly ate their food as BA sat back down. Face and Murdock were unable to stop themselves from having a sneaky look as BA picked up his fork, both men stifled a smile as he put fork-full after fork-full of food in his mouth.

'What time's our flight Face?' Hannibal looked at his watch.

'I already told you, I ain't gettin on no plane Hannibal!' BA put down his fork and stood up, walking towards the doors, 'You fools can fly, I'm taking the van!'

'So what, you're planning on driving all the way to Texas?' Face looked at him cynically as they made their way towards the van.

'Yeah, and this time I'm ready for you all,' BA gave a determined look, 'You've drugged me too many times, well this time I ain't gonna take my eyes off any of you!'

'Have it your way.' Hannibal sighed, then stretched, 'Hey, I don't know about any of you guys, but that breakfast made me feel kinda sleepy.'

Face and Murdock agreed, yawning in unison.

'How about you BA?' The edges of Hannibals lips turned upright, the beginning of a smirk appearing on his face, 'Did you enjoy your breakfast?'

BA stared at him momentarily , then realisation appeared on his face. Scowling, he made a fist, pulling his arm back, he stepped in towards Hannibal as he launched his fist towards his C.O. The punch, started off strong, but by the time it reached Hannibal it was barely a tap as BA's drugged body flopped ungraciously into his arms.

'Nighty night.' Hannibal smirked as Face helped him to put BA in the back of the van. Murdock jumped into the driver's seat, waiting for everyone to get into the van before driving off to the airport.

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

'Are you sure he's ok?' Janise looked through the wing-mirror to the unconscious man sat at the back of her car as she drove the four men away from the airport. Face and Murdock wriggled and squirmed uncomfortably at either side of their muscular friend. How all three of them had managed to squeeze into the very tight back seat, especially with BA's legs sprawled out was anybodies guess.

'He's fine, he just doesn't like flying, so with give him a little something to help calm his nerves.'

Janise turned to the silver haired man beside her, 'Yes, but why are his wrists tied?'

'So he can't kill us when he wakes up.' Murdock gave her a surprised look as though it was the most obvious answer in the world.

Face, spotting the alarmed look on Janise's face as she jerked her head in their direction explained further, 'Um, you see, BA doesn't take kindly to this little favour we do for him, so discovering we've drugged him and taken him aboard an aircraft makes him a little, um, edgy shall we say.'

Janise concentrated on the road again, 'Right.' She smiled, 'Ya'll are crazy, you know that?'

'Hey, I'm the crazy one of the team!' Murdock pointed to himself indignantly, 'Everybody's got a place, and that particular one is mine, thank you very much.'

'I've heard of folk tryin to outsmart each other before, but never outcrazy each other.' Janise laughed.

The sudden mumbling and grunting alerted them to their awakening passenger. Face moved nervously away as Murdock moved curiously in. BA opened one eyelid, and then another, he elbowed the gawking man in the stomach, causing Murdock to recoil sulkily, giving BA some breathing space. Realising that his hands were restricted, he looked to see the rope tied around them, remembrance hit the large man as he lunged his body towards Hannibal, who managed to lean away from his irate friend, with the help of Face and Murdock who were holding him back. They managed to sit him back down on the seat.

'You drugged me sucka!'

'Now BA, in all fairness, you didn't tell me until after I drugged you that you didn't want to be drugged.' Hannibal pointed out.

'Yeah BA, I mean, how's a guy gonna know you don't want to be drugged unless you tell them?' Face sided, albeit sarcastically with his CO.

'Grrrrrrrr!' Was the only response BA gave, knowing that there was hardly any point in carrying this on any further, he knew this sort of battle was one he had little chance of winning.

'Are we nearly there yet?' Murdock whined like a child on a road trip. Face didn't blame Murdock for complaining, it'd gotten progressively more uncomfortable sitting on the backseat.

'We're running out of gas, so I'm gonna have to stop off at the gas station.' Janise tapped the gauge, 'Y'all can stretch your legs while I fill it up.'

Hannibal noticed Janise tense up as they pulled up to the gas station, 'Something wrong?'

She signalled to a group of men who were talking nearby, 'They're some of the men who Grey work for, maybe I should just take y'all straight up to the ranch, fillin this up can wait til later.'

'But the tank's almost empty,' Hannibal started to get out of the car, 'and plus, it'll give us a chance to meet our rivals.'

'I don't think they'll take kindly to you, knowing that you're with me.'

'I know.' Hannibal grinned, with a sparkle in his eye, 'That's part of the fun.'

The others got out of the car.

'On the Jazz!' BA groaned.

'The jazz?'

Face turned to Janise, 'Don't ask.'

The men looked over at the arrivals, and made their way over to them.

'You can't use this.' A short stocky man told them.

'Oh, is it out of order?' Hannibal walked towards another pump, 'I'll use this one instead.'

The man walked in front of said pump, 'They're all out of order to you.'

'I'm afraid I don't understand.' Hannibal feigned a clueless look.

A younger, taller man stepped in, 'What he's saying bonehead is seen as you're with her, you ain't welcome here!'

Hannibal looked around, 'Oh that's funny, I don't see any sign saying this belongs to you, Texas is in America isn't it?'

'It was the last time I checked Colonel.' Murdock was in the middle of stretching each of his limbs.

'Which makes this a free country, so if you excuse me, I'm going to fill up that car now.'

The tall man took the stocky mans place in front of the pump, 'I don't care where this is, you ain't getting gas from here, and there ain't anything you can do about it!' The rest of the men laughed like a bunch of coyotes.

Hannibal turned around and smirked at his own men, before clenching his hand into a fist and swinging it into the cocky mans jaw, sending him crashing to the ground. BA shot Hannibal an amused grin, but Greys men didn't find it quite so amusing, raging towards the team.

BA and Hannibal found this little battle relatively easy.

Murdock however was having a little trouble with his opponent, after slipping and landing a clumsy punch on the slightly more muscular man, he was now pinned down to the ground, awaiting the arrival of the mans fist, probably to his jaw.

Luckily Face noticed just in time, grabbing hold of the mans wrist, 'Hi.' He said as the man started to turn angrily towards him, but instead of a face, he was met with a fist landing smack bang on his nose. Murdock smiled gratefully and pushed the unconscious body off his own.

Face noticed Murdocks fangs fall out of his pocket and was about to tell him when he spotted possibly the largest, and toughest looking of the men come striding towards them. Both men stood up.

'Why do they always have to come after us?' Face groaned.

The beast of a man glared down at them both ready to attack, leaving only one thing for the two friends to do, they'd have to double-team.

Dodging the mans first hit they retaliated with a punch to his stomach that was done in complete unison. The man was knocked back slightly, they then used all of their strength to land more unified hits on him, giving him little chance to recover until eventual he landed ungraciously to the ground.

Face leant on Murdock, both men panting. After a moments rest they separated, each going towards a new opponent

. Face groaned inwardly as he heard a cracking sound beneath his foot, he lifted it up to reveal what he'd dreaded, broken fangs, he quickly swooped them up and put them in his pocket.

BA was busy flinging the men Hannibal had beaten across their cars.

One of men had hold of Face around the collar, 'Please not the face.' The lieutenant begged, closing his eyes and cringing as the fist came towards him, 'B…' he began, but stopped, cracking an eye open to see that BA was already there, landing an effortless punch on the mans cheek, and throwing him towards the rest of the half unconscious men. 'Thanks.' Face straightened his tie.

Hannibal walked over to the pump and started to fill up the car.

'You won't get away with this!' The stocky man said as he and the rest of the men helped each other up and got into their cars. 'You'll be sorry!'

Hannibal just laughed as he watched them drive away.

Face walked over to Murdock looking like the cat that had stolen the milk. His eyes were sympathetic as he held out the pieces of broken glowing plastic, 'Sorry about the fangs, I guess the Murdock zombie is gonna be wearing a crooked smile from now on.'

'S'okay' Murdock shrugged, unbothered, 'Don't need em anymore.' He took the fangs and tossed them into a trashcan as he made his way back to Janise's car. One persona over, another almost guaranteed to begin, when though, was anybody's guess.

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Janise drove into the ranch, and all five of them got out of her car.

'Mommy!' Timmy giggled, running up to her and giving her a big hug. She picked him up.

'This is my son Timmy.' All four men smiled at him, 'What are you laughing at hey?' She tickled Timmy, making him laugh louder, he was about to tell her when the question was answered for her.

'Hey get back here!' Bill shouted out as he ran, barefooted after the two dogs, who each had a boot in their mouths, 'I'm not playing, you guys are gonna be in big trouble!'

'And that's my husband, Bill.' Janise sniggered.

'Here boys!' Murdock called out, kneeling down on the floor. The two dogs dropped the boots and ran over to Murdock, 'Good boys!' Murdock stroked them affectionately.

'Wow, that's amazing!' Bill stopped in front of the new arrivals, hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. 'Nice to meet you folk by the way.' He held out his hand, shaking each A-Team member's hands.

Hannibal grinned, 'Murdock tends to have a way with animals.'

Face looked at Timmy, 'What are their names?'

Timmy pointed to the Collie, 'He's Chase, and the other ones called Fetcher.' The young boy smiled proudly, 'I named em myself.'

'Although the names should be reversed, the Shepard does nothin but chase the collie, and the collie fetches nothin but trouble.' They all turned to face Jerry, 'Speakin of trouble, I suppose these are them there A-Team watcha'm call it's you were talkin about?'

'Yeah Pa, this is Hannibal, Face, Murdock and BA.' She pointed to each of them as she said their names, Jerry raised his hat to them 'And this is my Pa Jerry.' The four men greeted her father.

'Aww, I shoulda brought Billy, He woulda had a whole buncha fun, playin with these two guys!' Murdock tickled both dogs under their chins.

'You have a dog too?' Timmy smiled.

'Yeah, but I left him back at the VA.' Murdock sighed.

'The VA?' Asked Janise.

'You ain't got no dog sucka!'

'He's a mental patient at the VA hospital.' Hannibal answered.

'Oh great.' Bill said sarcastically.

'I do too have a dog!' Murdock scowled at BA, 'Just cus you can't see Billy does not mean he doesn't exist, go on, tell him Faceman!'

'He's right BA, and plus, Billy's such a good dog, so easy to look after, and very clean too.'

BA looked over at Face in disbelief.

'So, is there a dog or not?' Janise looked at the four men, confusion plastered over her face.

Seen as Murdock was standing right next to him, Hannibal searched for an explanation that would fully answer Janise's question, and humour the imaginative Captain at the same time. He settled for a simple, 'Well, you see, Billy's _invisible_.' Putting a lot of emphasis on the last word, he hoped she'd understand.

She did, 'Oh right, I see.' Janise smiled knowingly at Hannibal.

'No, you, you can't see Billy, cus he ain't here, you can't see him if he's not here.' Murdock stated, matter-of-factly.

'Fool, you can't see him anywhere, cus he ain't real!'

Murdock shot BA a disgruntled look, and got a growl back as BA made a grab for his collar.

'BA, would you leave him alone!'

'Yeah, what the Faceman said!' Murdock broke free of BA's grasp and folded his arms.

'And Murdock, you lay off with the Billy stuff ok.'

'But Face, I…' Murdock began.

'No buts Murdock! If you want your body to still be intact by the end of this mission, then you'd better stop annoying him.'

Timmy had been staring up at the large, muscular man for the past few minutes. A wide, lopsided smile appeared on the small boys face as BA looked down and winked at him.

'So, what now?' Asked Jerry.

'I noticed a truck at the side of the house as we drove through, are you using it for anything?' Hannibal inquired.

'What, that old thing, no.' The older man shook his head.

'Well, we're gonna need a vehicle of our own, so…' Hannibal pointed in the trucks general direction.

'Yeah, sure you can have her, if you can fix her.' Bill shrugged, 'But old Annie ain't been workin for years now.'

'Don't worry, I'm sure we can fix it, right BA?'

'Yeah Hannibal, I can fix it.' BA stood up, and started to make his way to the truck. He turned back, looking at Timmy, 'Are you my helper?' Timmy nodded, 'Well ok then, what are you waiting for? Lets go.' BA turned round, a smile on his face as Timmy followed proudly behind.

'Oh, let me show you to your rooms, I'm afraid you're gonna have to share though.' Janise got the holdalls out of the trunk.

'That's fine, I'll share with BA, and Face you're with Murdock.'

'But Hannibal that's not fair, I had to share with Murdock last time.'

Hannibal ignored Face and took BA's holdall and his own off Janise, 'One of you grab the rest of the bags and come with us.'

'You go Murdock, I think I'll stay out here a while and relax, the air feels good.'

Jerry snorted, 'You don't come to a ranch to relax, you come to work.'

Face grabbed the bags off Murdock, 'On second thoughts, It'd be nice to see what our room looks like.'

Bill laughed, then tapped Murdock on his shoulder, 'Come on, you can help me with the animals, I'm guessin you're gonna be a dab-hand when it comes to them.'

* * *

**TBC… **


	3. Chapter Two: All Work And Some Play

**CHAPTER 2: All Work And Some Play  
**

Their first day at the ranch had been a fairly uneventful one, well, as far their actually mission was concerned.

BA worked on the old truck, along with his new little helper. It was in pretty bad shape but, ever the mechanic, BA had it up and running in next to no time.

The remainder of his day mostly consisted of helping out with any strenuous jobs, fixing miscellaneous objects and toys that Timmy gave him, because Timmy liked being the big guys' helper. It made him feel proud and important, much to BA's amusement; he'd quickly grown fond of the young boy.

When Murdock wasn't helping out with the animals or doing any other tasks that were needed of him he was sat down on the grass, in the middle of the field, talking to the cattle.

He'd become particularly friendly with a cow named Bella, who seemed to listen intently to every word the crazy pilot said, in fact, if Bill didn't know any better, he could have sworn she was nodding and shaking her head to questions Murdock asked. Bill did some head shaking of his own, telling Janise that hanging out with Murdock all day was beginning to have an effect on him, Janise laughed and told him he didn't need Murdock to make him crazy.

Face spent most of the day working hard on trying to avoid work and was doing a good job of it too, in fact, every time there was the slightest whiff of a chance he'd have to get his hands dirty, he managed to disappear out of sight. That was until Jerry got fed up with the 'Spoiled lazy city boy' as he dubbed Face, and went in search of him. He found the charismatic Lieutenant sweet-talking his housekeepers, and nieces Carla and Samantha.

Taking Face by the arm, he told the younger man that unless he started to pull his weight he'd be on cowpat cleanup duty in the morning. Unfortunately for Face, as good of a conman as he was, his art of persuasive charm didn't work with Jerry.

Actually, it seemed only to irate the older man further, telling Face that he'd be on cowpat cleanup duty for the rest of his duration at the ranch if he didn't help out.

Needlessly to say Face gave in, settling for some ploughing. So instead that particular morning task was given to Murdock. He insisted in fact saying something about 'In order to truly understand another creature, you must also become familiar with that of which was inside it, and then passed.'

And Hannibal did his fair share of the work too, fixing broken fences, helping Jerry to trim the horses hooves, and keeping a lookout for any _unwanted_ visitors. Although, he was a little disappointed as the hours passed and not a single one of Greys cronies dropped by, it looked as though they'd have to 'be sorry' another day.

Now they were all enjoying an evening meal which Janise had made for them.

'I was just saying that it would have been nice if Carla and Samantha had joined us.' Face shrugged defensively.

'And I'm just saying, again, that they both have houses of their own that they like to get back to.' Jerry paused to put a forkful of food into his mouth, swallowing it before narrowing his eyes and adding, 'So it looks like you're gonna have to chat up my nieces some other time!'

Face looked over at Hannibal for support but groaned as he saw the amused grin on his CO's face.

'Pa leave him alone.' Face smiled thankfully at Janise as Jerry grunted and ate his meal.

'Take no notice of him; he used to be worst with me.' Bill winked then ducked as Jerry chucked a boot at him

'And he's always liked Bill.' Janise laughed.

'Mommy, do I have to eat these?' Timmy whined, nudging the vegetables on his plate.

'Yes sweetie, now be a good boy.' She patted his head.

He groaned then looked over at BA who was happily chomping on his vegetables, Timmy pulled a face in disgust, 'You're eating them?'

'Sure Timmy, how else am I gonna stay big and strong?'

The young boys eyes widened, 'You mean if I eat em I might end up being strong, like you?' BA nodded, 'Cool.' Timmy exclaimed much to everyone's amusement, tucking enthusiastically in to his greens.

'Impressive, where have you been all our life?' Bill laughed.

'Yeah, you certainly have a way with kids.' Janise agreed.

'See, the Big Guy does have his uses.'

'Shut up Murdock!'

'Now there you go again BA, being mean, you've done nothin but hound me all trip!'

'I'll be feedin _you_ to the hounds if you don't be quiet!'

Jerry put his fork down on his empty plate, 'Do them two ever stop bickerin?'

'Rarely.' Hannibal ate the remaining morsel that was on his plate, 'Thanks Janise, that tasted great!' Everybody else agreed, thanking her gratefully for the meal.

Timmy rubbed his eyes, 'Oh, looks like somebody's ready to go to bed.'

'Awww, but Mommy, I'm not tired.'

'Yeah, well it's already passed your bed time.'

'But I'm a big boy…' He yawned widely, 'now'

'And big boys need there sleep too.' She held his hand as he slid off the chair, 'Come on, now say goodnight to everyone.'

He folded his arms and frowned, 'Goodnight.'

Bill chuckled and picked Timmy up, 'Looks like someone's a little tired and cranky.'

Everyone said goodnight to Timmy as Bill and Janise took him to his room.

Face looked over at Hannibal, 'So what are we doing tomorrow, still just gonna wait to see if some of Greys men turn up?'

'No, looks like we're gonna have to go to them.'

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Face pressed the pillow tightly to his ears, then moaned as the sound from the next bed could still be heard.

'…and then she said that Clint, that's the bull, you know the one with the big white spot around his eye, well anyway, Bella said that he….'

Face slammed his fists down on the mattress, shooting Murdock an irritated look, but keeping his voice low 'Murdock I don't care about your conversations with cows, I don't care about your adventures with Chase and Fetcher, it's a quarter to three in the morning and at this exact moment…' Face raised his voice slightly 'I don't care about anything!'

Murdocks eyes went wide like a scolded puppy, he shot Face an indignant look, 'Well, I. Am. Sorry, but I didn't realised a guy'd get chastised for wantin to talk to his best friend!'

'Well they do if said best friend is really tired and wants to sleep.'

'Hmph!' Murdock dragged the blanket over himself and sulkily faced the wall.

Face lay back down but kept his eyes opened; knowing that as soon as he closed them there'd be a good chance that Murdock would start talking again. The minutes passed and his friend remained silent so Face finally shut his eyes, smiling peacefully as he started to drift off into a nice restful…

'Facey, do you think they'll let me keep a calf at the VA?'

Face sat up again, 'Why me Murdock, why?'

'Huh?'

'Why is it that every time we share a room you have to keep me awake all night?'

'But I talk to Hannibal and BA when I share with them too.'

'Not all night like with you do with me.'

'Yeah, but you know the ol' Colonel, he can sleep through anythin, I actually think my talkin helps him doze off.' Murdock sat up, 'And as for the ugly mudsucker, lord knows he needs all the beauty sleep he can get.'

'Oh right, I'll tell him you said that.' Face smirked.

'I already did, ages back.' Murdock grimaced as he remembered that particular conversation, 'I couldn't sit down for a week after, and the Big Guy was barefooted too!'

Face couldn't help but laugh at that, 'Well anyway, it's been a long day, I'm tired, you should be too, so how about doing us both a favour and leaving the Dr Dolittle stuff for tomorrow, 'kay?' Face smiled, all sense of annoyance having now left him.

'Dr Dolittle, Hmmm.' Murdock tapped his chin thoughtfully.

'BA's gonna kill me.' Face groaned, pulling the blanket over his head.

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

'…_alligator, guinea pig, and flea! I would converse in polar bear and python, and I would curse in fluent kangaroo, If people ask me '__**can you speak rhinoceros?**__'  
I'd say '__**of courserous! Can't you?**__' If I conferred with our furry friends, man to animal, think of the amazing repartee…_' Murdock sang merrily as he shovelled.

'Man, what's all that noise?' BA growled as he walked over to his friends, with Timmy on his back.

'That, would be Murdock singin.' Face turned to BA.

'Singin? I though the cat was sick!' BA lifted Timmy down.

Timmy looked up at the muscular man, 'We don't have a cat.'

Murdock shot BA a look as he shovelled, 'I like singin when I work.'

'Hey, I'd watch what I said if I were you Sergeant or Murdock might literally give you a pat on the back.' Hannibal grinned

'If he tries it he'll be flat on his!' BA growled, his eyes narrowing at Murdock.

Murdock held his hands out defensively, 'What? I didn't say nothin!'

'What was you singin?'

Murdock looked down at Timmy, 'Talk to the animals, you ever seen Dr Dolittle?'

'No.'

'Ah, well he's this guy, real smart, who can talk to animals and they understand him too, same as me.' Murdock smiled, 'So I thought it was only fitting that I sang that song, seen as we have the same ability and all.'

'You can't talk to no animals!'

Murdock folded his arms 'Can too BA!' He looked at Timmy again, 'It's a gift, and a curse.'

BA rolled his eyes, 'Come on Timmy, before we all get as crazy as he is!'

Timmy stared curiously up at Murdock, 'Why's it a curse?'

'Cus whenever I talk to em BA over there turns into an even bigger grouch than he already is!'

Timmy giggled and ran after BA.

'When you've finished there Captain we'll go and have a little chat to Grey.' Hannibal looked at his watch, 'Have we got an address yet?'

'Janise is looking for it as we speak.' Face turned to Murdock; 'Having fun?' he smiled awkwardly as Murdock nodded happily.

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

'But Mr Grey, these guys were really good, they-' The stocky man that the A-Team had met the day before cringed as the voice from the other end of the telephone interrupted him, 'Yeah I know we're not paid to lose, next time we won't let em get so lucky.' He held the retriever away from his ear slightly, 'I know don't worry, we'll get you that ranch in no time, they're bound to give up sooner or later. These new guys are just a miner hiccup, they'll probably get fed up soon, once they realise who they're messing with.'

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Murdock grinned widely as he walked out of the house.

'What's got you so happy?' Face raised an eyebrow.

'I'm goin back home.' He beamed

'To the VA?' BA asked, 'Good, best place for a crazy man to be!'

'No no, not the VA, home, where I grew up, that's where Grey's set up his office.'

Face passed their weapons to BA, 'In your old home?'

'No, but real close by.' Murdock leant on the truck, 'Hey, I wonder if Uncle Roger still lives next door.'

'You don't have an Uncle Roger Murdock, he was just so I could swing you from the VA, remember, you gave him your right lung?'

'Oh right, how about Cousin Marty?'

'Left kidney.'

'Francis?' Face shook his head, 'Which of my relatives are actually real then?'

'Come on guys, time to pay Grey a little visit.' Hannibal got into the truck. BA got into the drivers seat and Face and Murdock jumped in the back.

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Murdock Jumped out of the truck and looked around, 'Hey, this place looks at lot smaller than I remember it.'

'That's cus you ain't a kid no more fool.' BA got out and slammed the truck door shut.

'No that's not it.' Murdock pondered for a moment, 'Hey I know, it's cus the castle ain't here no more!'

'Castle?'

'Yeah Face, that's where I used to go when I was training to be a knight.'

'Shut up fool.'

Murdock ignored BA, continuing, 'I had a real good time too at knight school, cept when I had to walk across the drawbridge, that troll who lived underneath it was real mean.'

'Man, I told you we shoulda dropped him off at the VA instead.' BA slipped the gun strap over his shoulder.

'Oh, I don't know BA, I can just see Murdock in shining armour, riding aboard his trusted steed.' Hannibal smiled mischievously at his aggravated sergeant. He turned his attention to Murdock, 'Captain, we'll have proper look around here after we've met Grey.'

'Thanks Colonel.'

Hannibal lit a cigar, placing it firmly between his teeth, 'Lets go Face.' He and Face got their rifles ready, 'You two wait here and stand guard, we'll signal you in if we need you.'

BA and Murdock nodded, watching their friends as they made there way towards Greys office.

The man behind the desk jumped up as Hannibal kicked open the door.

'What is this?' He demanded, staring nervously at the two guns pointing at his chest.

'I take it your Frederick Grey.' Hannibal rested his rifle on his side, he used his free hand to pick up the name plate that was on the mans desk, which read '_Frederick Grey_'

'Who do you think you are, barging in like this?'

'Well, we've already had the displeasure of meeting some of your slimeballs, so we thought it was only right to meet the head of the slimeballs too.'

'Ah, so you're two of them guys that my men were talking about.' Grey sniggered, 'You caught them off guard last time so allow me to give you some friendly advice.'

'Oh, I love friendly advice.' Hannibal grinned; he turned to Face, 'Don't you.'

'Yeah, it's the best kind.'

Grey snorted, 'Stay well away from that ranch if you know what's good for you, cus if you don't the next time you and my men meet, you won't be so lucky.'

Hannibal mock pondered for a moment, then smiled and shook his head, 'I think we'll take our chances.' He pressed his rifle on Greys chest, 'Now you're goin to leave that family alone and find some other piece of land to build on.' He turned to leave, 'Come on Face.' Face followed.

'Over my dead body, I'm gonna get that ranch if it's the last thing I do!'

Hannibal paused, turning back to face Grey, 'Have it your way.' He shrugged.

They made their way back to BA and Murdock, 'Guys like Grey never learn the easy way.'

'I know what you mean Hannibal, we give em a chance but they never take it.' Face sighed.

Murdock looked at Hannibal expectantly, 'You wanna check out your old house now Murdock?'

'I sure do Colonel; I got a lotta memories from that ol' place.'

'Yeah, but which ones are real?' Face muttered.

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

'…And I thought I told you to take care of them!' Grey shouted down the telephone, 'I want them gone, and if they won't leave on their own accord, then you'll have to make em.' He screwed his face up angrily as he listened to the voice on the other end of the phone, 'I don't care how good you think they are I pay you to be better, and if they won't leave, eliminate them!' Grey slammed the phone down, crumpling up a piece of paper and rolling it in his palm, 'Nobody threatens me and gets away with it!'

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Murdock stood in the doorway of his old house; eyes wide and thoughtful as past memories came flooding back.

'Man I ain't come here for you to just stand in the doorway.' BA pushed Murdock inside.

'Hey, you wanna see my old room?' Murdock strode forward before anyone had a chance to answer, they followed after him. Murdock opened the door, waiting until his friends were inside of the empty room before speaking again. He pointed to the wall across from the window, 'That's where my bed used to be.' he walked over to the window which had the curtains drawn and opened them wide, 'I always kept these open, used to lie in bed and stare at the stars at night before I went to sleep, made me feel safe.' He chuckled, 'And then in the morning I'd look out and watch all the birds flying high in the sky, so calm and peaceful, not a care in the world. I wanted so much to be like them.'

'To fly?' Murdock faced Hannibal and nodded.

Murdock put his hands in his pockets and made his way out of the room. Looking back momentarily before casually walking away. The others following him as he gave them a tour of his childhood home, putting on a commentators voice as he told them about past events.

A trip down memory land of the ol' Murdock homestead was always going to be an interesting one, even if a lot of what he thought he remembered was doubtful. One thing was for certain though; Murdock's great imagination and love for flying had been there from a very early age. People always told him he was different, even when he wasn't insane, but like his three friends who were with him today, they knew deep down that that was what made Murdock so special.

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Greys men were waiting for Hannibal and his team as they drove towards the ranch. The road block they had set up failed to prevent BA from getting the truck passed them so instead they all got back into their now slightly damaged vehicles and pursued the A-Team.

Their gunshots were met with returning fire as Face and Murdock aimed rounds at their tires and hoods. Bullets pierced the metal of the truck.

'I only just fixed this man!' BA shrieked furiously, swerving to the right.

'Hang in there BA, I'm gonna give some extra fire power.' Hannibal opened his door, leaned out of the truck and shot at the enemy vehicles with one hand, using his free hand to hold onto the truck.

The nearest car stopped abruptly as the bullets proved too much for it. The hood flying off as the car exploded, causing the vehicle behind to flip over it. A man crawled out of the now upside down vehicle, looking dizzily at the two men who scrambled out of the other car.

The remaining two cars proved even less of a challenge than the others, swerving off the road and into a ditch as bullets burst the tires.

BA gave Hannibal a disgruntled look as his CO closed the door and got back into his seat, smiling gleefully as though he had thoroughly enjoyed that little bit of excitement.

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

'Man, look what they did to the truck!' BA slammed the door shut.

'Oh my gosh, what happened, y'all ok?' Janise stared at the bullet holes in the truck.

'We're fine, but Greys goons didn't seem all that jubilant when we left them.' Hannibal grinned.

'I'm glad you're happy Hannibal, but you weren't the one who had bullets whizzing past their head!' Face complained.

'Yay your back!' Timmy wrapped his arms part way around BA's waist, and then looked at the truck, 'You want me to help you fix it again?'

BA rubbed Timmy's head, 'Course I do Timmy, you're my helper.'

'But you've got chores of your own to be doing first.'

'Ok Mommy, I'll do them after I help BA.'

'No, you'll do them first.'

'Hmmm, what if I ask Daddy, and he says I can?'

Janise laughed, 'Chores now, help BA after, I'm sure he'll wait for you.'

'Yeah I'll wait, do what your momma says Timmy.'

'Ok, I'll be really quick, like superman!' Timmy ran off.

* * *

TBC

* * *

Thankyou to everyone who has read and reviewed this story so far :)


	4. Chapter Three: Ransom

**Chapter 3: Ransom**

Timmy ran over to BA, who was busily fixing the truck, 'I'm done!'

BA turned to face him, 'You finished _all_ your chores Timmy?'

Timmy nodded, 'Yep, I helped Daddy wash Chase and Fetcher, then I give them food and then I cleaned my room.'

'Good, wanna help me now?'

'Yeah!' He exclaimed excitedly.

'Ok.' BA smiled, 'Will you pass me the-'

Chase and Fetcher ran over to Timmy, licking him affectionately, 'They're saying hello.' He explained, pushing them away and giggling, 'They said hi to you too BA.'

'Hi Fella's'

'Chase said can they help too?'

'This isn't really a dog job.'

Murdock walked up to them curiously; hands in his pockets, 'Hey, how come you always moan at me for talkin to animals, but not Timmy.' He joked.

'Cus he's five and you're not!'

'Hey!' Timmy put his hands on his waist, giving BA a stern look, 'I'm five and a _half_!'

'Oh, sorry.'

'That's ok.' Timmy smiled forgivingly at his new big friend, then gave him an inquisitive look, 'Why _do_ you get annoyed at Murdock for talkin to animals just cus he's not five?'

Murdock placed his hand on Timmy's shoulder, 'Cus kids are real special Timmy, they can all talk to animals and the like, but when they grow up they usually lose the ability.' He explained, 'I however am one of the more fortunate ones and I can still talk to em and understand em, but disbelievers, like that great big ugly mudsucker over there get all mean and grouchy about it.'

'Shut up fool!'

'You believe me though, don't you Timmy?'

Timmy looked at Murdock, and then at BA, who was rolling his eyes, 'Erm, BA you gotta put your fingers in your ears.'

'Huh, um, ok?' BA complied, although he was slightly bemused. He stuck his index fingers into his ears.

Timmy went over to Murdock, tugging on his pants legs, the tall man knelt down on his knees, looking down at the boy. Timmy stood on his tiptoes, gave BA a quick glance, then whispered secretively in Murdock's ear, 'Yeah, I believe you.'

Murdock winked at Timmy, 'Thanks.' He took off his baseball cap and put it on Timmy's head, it fell down over his eyes, 'Looks good on ya.'

'It's too big.' Timmy giggled, removing the baseball cap and giving it back to Murdock.

'Hey, are you saying I've got a big head?'

'Yep, giant head!'

Murdock chuckled, 'Least it ain't as big as BA's.'

'Shut up fool!'

'You can't hear me; you've got your fingers in your ears.' Murdock stood up, sticking out his tongue as BA started to growl.

'Oh yeah, you can take em out now.' BA didn't move his fingers, staring blankly ahead, 'You can take em out.' Timmy jumped up and down in front of him.

BA took his fingers out, 'Can I take these out now Timmy?'

'Yeah.' He chortled.

Janise came walking over to them, 'Timmy I though I told you to do your chores before you helped BA.'

'I did.'

'Did you forget about your bedroom sweetie?'

'No, I did that too.'

'Everything's all over the floor.'

'I know, I put it there Mommy.' He smiled proudly.

Janise raised a questioning eyebrow, 'Why?'

'Cus when I forget to put stuff back in the boxes and cupboards it makes my room get all messy and then I have to clean it up, so I had an idea, if the stuff I use belongs on the floor and not in the boxes and cupboards then I won't have to clean my room anymore so then I gots more time to play or help do the fun stuff, like wash the animals.'

'Hey, he's really got it all worked out.' Murdock laughed, then started to walk away, 'I'll see all you wonderful people later.'

'Fool, where you goin?'

'To tell Bella about us going taking a look around my old home of course.' BA rolled his eyes at that.

'Do you like my idea Mommy?'

'Um, well it's certainly an interesting one.' Janise couldn't help but smile, 'But I think we might just do it the regular way for now honey.'

'Ok.' Timmy sighed, walking in front of Janise as they both headed back to the house, 'But my way would have been quicker.'

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

'So what you are saying is they are still there?' Grey's voice was low but harsh as he stood up at his desk, looking at the man before him, the same man who had punched Jerry in the face, 'Is that correct Jones?'

'Yes Sir.'

'Oh, well that's funny because I distinctly remember telling you and the rest of them halfwits who I have working for me to get rid of them.'

'I know Mr Grey, but the guys, they really are good, probably professionally trained I reckon and-'

Grey slammed his fists down hard on the desk, making Jones jump, 'I am sick up to here' he put his hand above his head, 'of hearing about how good _you_ think _they _are, what the hell am I paying you for?'

'I understand that Sir but-'

'There you go again, _'but this'_ and _'but that'_, I don't want excuses, I want results!'

'What I was trying to say Sir is that I don't think getting rid of them is going to work,' Grey narrowed his eyes but Jones carried on anyway, 'I think we need to do this a different way.'

'So eliminate them, like I said.'

Jones rubbed the back of his head, 'I was thinking of a different approach, killing just causes more problems, but I do have an idea.'

'Enlighten me.' The two words lacked both enthusiasm and interest.

'Well we're always making threats to em, mostly idle, and threats alone haven't worked so far, although the threat to that girl of theirs seemed to rub them up the wrong way.' A smirk passed his lips, 'So I was thinkin about actually acting on that particular threat and maybe that brat of theirs too.'

'Ok I'm listing, what are you suggesting?'

'That we take em, tie em up someplace and put out a ransom for their return.' He explained, 'Except the ransom would be for the ranch, not for cash.'

'Not a bad Idea Jones.' Jones smiled proudly at that before getting shoved roughly over to the door, 'Now don't just stand there with that stupid expression on your face, go and do what you said!'

'Right Sir!' Jones opened the door.

'Oh and Jones.' He looked back at Grey, 'This had better work.'

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Murdock sat on the grass, surrounded by cows, merrily talking away. The cattle grazed, unbothered, mooing occasionally.

'….Oh I don't know Bella, I think Ol' Clint just might have eyes for ya, I think the handsome spot eyed bulls just playin hard to get.' The cow just stared at him, 'Ok, don't take my word for it, but I-' something in the distance caught Murdocks eye; he stood up and rushed towards Hannibal and Face.

'Hannibal come on; let me keep watch for a little longer, BA's only just fixed the truck.' Face pleaded, binoculars in hand, 'I mean doesn't the man deserve a break?'

'Oh how thoughtful of you.' Hannibal rolled his eyes, 'Now remember what happened yesterday Lieutenant.'

'Well I'm hurt Hannibal, hurt that you would choose to instantly believe that I'm only being thoughtful for my own selfish reasons and not even consider the fact that I may have just been thinking of BA.'

An amused expression appeared on Hannibal face, 'But you are just doing it for your own selfish reasons Face.'

'I know, but that's beside the point!' Face scowled, chucking the binoculars to Hannibal who just laughed, he was about to say something when Murdock rushed up to him.

'Hey Colonel, I think we got company.'

'Company?' Hannibal put the binoculars to his face and frowned, 'Murdock, you and BA get the weapons, Face you take Janise and Timmy inside, tell em to go wait in the basement til this is over.' He turned around to see his men running off in different directions, 'It doesn't look like they've come here for a nice bullet-free chat.'

Face ran over to Janise, putting his arm around her shoulder and leading her towards Timmy, 'Um, we've got a couple of unwanted guests coming, you and Timmy should wait inside.'

'Wait inside?' Janise frowned, 'Y'all are just as bad as Bill and my Pa, now if you think for a second that I'm waiting in that house then you've got…'

'They have guns; you need to stay inside to keep Timmy safe.' Face explained, 'Go into the basement ok?'

Janise sighed, 'Ok. Timmy come here sweetie.' The little boy skipped towards Janise and they both walked inside the house. Satisfied, Face made his way back to Hannibal.

Murdock and BA had already got there and alongside Hannibal were aiming their rifles at the oncoming vehicles. Murdock passed Face a rifle.

'Hey, what's all the hoo-ha about?'

Hannibal turned to Jerry, 'Some of Greys men are coming so we've decided to be their welcoming committee.' He smiled, then turned serious, 'It'd probably be safer if you and Bill stayed inside.'

'You think I'm gonna sit in there and watch while y'all are having fun?' Jerry turned away and shouted over to Bill, 'Hey Bill, go grab the shotguns.'

Bill arrived, shotguns in hand just in time to see the three trucks pull up onto the ranch. He passed one to Jerry and they both, like the A-Team, aimed their weapons at their new arrivals.

'Oh, You've come out to great us, I feel honoured.' Jones got out of his truck; the rest of Greys men did the same.

'Nice huh?' Hannibal grinned.

'Now let me see, um, one, two,' He pointed to the men before him, 'six of you and ten of us, oh seems you're slightly outnumbered, what a shame, looks like you drawn the short straw this time.' Jones smirked, looking at the guns pointed towards them, he and Greys men returned the favour.

'I wouldn't get too cocky pal, it's not the quantity it's the quality.' Hannibal pointed out, 'And quality seems to be an aspect that you're all lacking.'

'Oh, we'll see…'

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Two men in their twenties crept around the back of the house, the slightly younger looking one rubbed the stubble on the side of his cheek nervously, 'So what did Jonesie say we was doin again Kurt?'

Kurt spun his head around, his shoulder length blond straggly hair hit his face as he did so, 'Mark how many times have we gotta go though this, we go into the house, get the girl and the kid and then get outta there.'

'Yeah but then where do we go?'

'Back to the car stupid!' Kurt passed him a pistol, 'Use that on the brat ok, it'll make the girl come nice and quiet.'

Mark checked the weapon, 'Hey man this is empty.'

'Yeah I know.'

'Well what's the point in having a gun with no bullets?'

'It's just for show; they don't know it's empty.' Kurt opened the door and whispered, 'Plus I don't trust you, you'd probably slip and actually shoot the damn kid.'

They looked around for a few minutes before finding the door to the basement, 'Now you just aim the gun and let me do the talkin, got it?'

Mark nodded, 'Got it.'

Kurt opened the door; Janise was about to say something when she saw the gun in Marks hand, pointed towards Timmy 'Scream lady and my friend there will put a hole through the brats head.'

'Mommy?' Timmy's mouth started to quiver.

'You'd better keep him quiet too!' Kurt hissed as he and Mark made their way inside the basement.

She put her hands on his shoulders, 'Shhh honey.'

Mark snatched the boy off her, putting the gun to his back.

Janise gasped in horror, 'No, please, no.'

Kurt slapped her across the face, 'I said shut up, do you want the brat to have a bullet through his skull?' Janise shook her head, 'Well that's real smart lady, now come on, lets go.'

Janise walked back up out of the basement, followed by Kurt. Mark picked Timmy up and carried him out, gun pointed to his head. They took them towards a red Mustang.

'Get in.'

Janise did as she was told, wrapping her arms around a trembling Timmy as Mark placed him onto her knee, 'It's ok Mommy, BA'll save us.' He whispered shakily.

'Why ain't we hearing no shots?' Mark whispered to Kurt as he got into the car, 'And why ain't Clarke and Robson in here?'

'Didn't you listen to a word I told you?' Kurt whispered back as he got into the drivers seat.

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The A-Team, Jerry and Bill held their weapons down towards the floor; the two men that had suddenly shown up and come from behind had left them surrounded. They now understood the reason behind the overconfident smirk that had been plastered over Jones's face since he and the rest of the goons had arrived.

The sudden sound of a car engine caught everybody's attention.

'We got the girl and the kid.' Kurt called out to Jones.

'Good.'

Everybody instinctively took a step forward towards the car before grudgingly stopping, realising that Greys men still had their weapons towards them. The men in front walked backwards and got back into the trucks.

Jones eyes narrowed, 'Now if you want them back alive, you'd better give us this ranch.' He got back into his truck, 'We'll give you until sundown to make your decision, oh and if you're late the infliction of pain shall begin, slow and painful.'

'Y'all are scum!' Jerry shouted out, 'You ain't gonna get away with this!'

The two men from behind them got into the back of the mustang, squashing Janise and Timmy between them like a sandwich.

Chase and Fetcher ran barking out of the house, Bill managed to grab Chase but Jerry couldn't get hold of Fetcher who ran after the vehicles.

Hannibal, followed by the rest of his team ran to the truck, there was no time to worry about the dog now.

'Aw, I'm sorry Colonel, this is my fault.' Murdock groaned, 'I shoulda checked out what was happening first before I went and told you, I'd have probably seen the Mustang go round back.'

'Murdock it isn't your fault.' Hannibal patted his back as they got to the truck, 'Besides, you weren't even supposed to be keeping a lookout; we should be thanking you on a job well done.'

'Hey don't blame me Hannibal; if you hadn't come over telling me to give the binoculars back I woulda seen them.'

'I didn't say anything Face.' Hannibal held his hands out innocently, a smirk appearing on his face as he opened the door to the truck, 'Looks like somebody as a guilty conscience.'

Face and Murdock jumped in the back and leant their bodies over the roof of the truck, rifles pointed towards the road ahead. BA slammed his foot down on the gas as soon as everyone had got in, an impatient look on his face.

They did everything with the utmost of speed, not because they were afraid of the crooks killing Janise and Timmy, the four of them had dealt with enough of this kind of thing to know that they wouldn't go with the threat, Grey and his men want the ranch after all and if they killed their captives then what reason would Jerry have to hand it over? The reason they were working so fast was because they wanted to follow them to the location that they were taking Janise and Timmy to. Of course they could have been taking them straight to Grey's office but if they were smart at all they'd go as fast as they could and take them to a secret location, hence the reason the A-Team had decided to chase after them.

'You two wait here.' Hannibal called back as they shot passed Bill and Jerry, 'We'll get em back.'

'And fetcher too!' Murdock shouted.

'So, we just wait then?'

'That's what they said.' Jerry shrugged as he made his way towards Janise's car, Bill followed and they both started to get in it.

'So why are we getting in here then?'

'To um, get Fetcher.' Jerry turned on the ignition and drove off the ranch.

'Ah right, yeah, I mean it'd be unfair if they had to look for Fetcher too wouldn't it?' Bill winked, 'And if he just happens to end up at the same place that they're heading, coincidentally of course, then we'll just have to explain that trying to catch the dog unintentionally led us to them.'

'Exactly.'

They drove up the dirt road before spotting Fetcher who had apparently given up on chasing the vehicles and was now making his way towards some trees.

'Did you see that?' Jerry asked, Bill shook his head with feigned ignorance, 'Me neither.' He carried on up the road.

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Quite a considerable amount further up the road BA was almost caught up to the crooks. Face and Murdock aimed their rifles ready and waiting until they were close enough to get a good shot at the wheels of the opposing vehicles.

As usual it hadn't took BA long to catch up with the goons, although he wasn't catching up to them as quickly as he hoped, but that was to be expected, not having his van and all.

The sudden round of shots at them alerted Face and Murdock to the fact that they were now obviously close enough, so recovering from the quick turn BA had just done, which had sent them both roughly sideward's, forcing them to momentarily cling onto the roof of the truck with one hand for fear of ending up on the road. They quickly got up straight, put their upper bodies over the roof and returned the fire.

The A-Team were being slightly more careful than normal, not wanting their actions to inadvertently cause damage to Janise or Timmy. The three of them shot at the wheels of the trucks, but they purposely ignored the mustang. If and when they got the trucks out of the way all they would have to do then would be to follow the mustang to wherever it was going and after that everything should get easier, well that was Hannibal's plan anyway. Although they had to get rid of the trucks first, full of goons shooting at them, without their own truck getting too badly damage to be able to go on, which was why, to Face and Murdock's dismay, BA was swerving in and out of the road trying to make the other guys bullets miss.

'How are we supposed to hit anything if we're too busy trying to cling on for our lives!' Face complained, looking a little worse for wear, 'Why doesn't he just slam down on the brakes and send us both flying onto the mustang, it'd be safer!' He rolled his eyes.

'Shhhh, not so loud Face, the ugly mudsucker'll probably do it.' Murdock warned.

Hannibal, who of course had the comfort of being inside the truck had just managed to burst two tires of the truck directly in front of them. He smiled smugly, cigar in mouth, leaning out of the window as BA sped past them, making sure that the four men could see his self satisfaction as they got out of their damaged vehicle.

Whilst Hannibal was tending to his own enjoyment of winding up the four men he had just thwarted, Face and Murdock had managed to hit a wheel each of another truck.

Face's hit had been out of sheer luck, BA's sharp swerving having finally paid off positively, in favour of the Lieutenant.

Whereas Murdock's hit was done by pure skill, helped by the burst tire caused by Face's bullet sending the truck swerving slightly in Murdock's direction, giving him an excellent shot and making the truck spin round in the road before coming to a complete standstill. The three men in it shot at them a few times before throwing their weapons on the ground in a huff and staring irritably at their vehicle.

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

'Well I never even thought I'd see old Annie running again, nevermind racing down the road at the speed they're goin.' Bill stared intently at the empty road ahead, 'Now where the heck have everybody gone, hey Jerry you sure they all went this way and not off the road?'

'Course I'm not sure, I don't know where they hell they've all gone.' Jerry looked at his passenger, 'Why, you suggesting we go off the road?'

'I don't know, what do you…' He leaned over suddenly, pointing to the road, 'Hey what's that there? It looks like, yeah it is, one of their trucks!'

'Well then, looks to me like we're goin the right way.' Jerry pressed his foot down harder onto the gas, driving past the truck.

It was the truck that Hannibal had put out of action. The four men shot at Jerry and Bill as they drove past them.

* * *

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The A-Team hadn't had a chance to inflict any damage on Jones's truck when it, followed closely by the mustang, had reached their destination.

Everyone got out of their vehicles, weapons in hand. Mark dragged their captives out of the mustang, pointing his gun to Timmy's head.

'Alright, you've had your fun, now let em go!' Hannibal ordered.

'Hand over the ranch and we will.' Jones answered.

Hannibal patted his pockets with one hand, holding his rifle in the other, 'Oh, no can do,' He gave the most arrogant smirk he could muster, 'It's not mine to give.'

'Yeah, go on, you just keep goin with the wisecracks.' Jones pointed his gun towards Janise and Timmy, 'And we'll just see how humorous you're feeling when they have a bullet through them.'

'Why are you pointing _your_ gun at em, you scared Tweedle Dumb over there'll miss at point blank range?'

Marks face twisted in anger at Hannibal's remark, 'You just went too far!' He aimed his pistol at Hannibal and pulled the trigger, 'Ah dammit!' He yelled, remembering too late that the gun had no bullets.

The slight distraction gave Janise a chance for escape, and she certainly used it. She almost threw Timmy towards BA before kicking Mark in the shin and making a run for it.

Mark was too busy writhing in pain to make a grab for her, and Kurt's attempt failed as she managed to dodge his hands.

'You idiot!' Kurt growled at Mark.

The A-Team shot a round at the feet of Greys men before they had a chance to do anything. The men quickly dived for cover behind the mustang.

The A-Team were about to get into the truck and take Janise and Timmy back to the ranch when Jerry and Bill turned up.

Seeing Janise and Timmy and realising they were ok, both men got out of the car, ran towards them and aimed their shotguns at Jones and the rest of Greys men.

'I thought I told you to stay put!' Hannibal hissed, then shook his head before either of the men had a chance to give an excuse, 'Nevermind, just take them to the car.'

Greys men went to shoot at them, but the A-Team were too quick for them, shooting in their direction.

'Murdock.' Hannibal nudged his head towards Janise's car; Murdock nodded his in response and rushed away.

'Well, we'd love to stay, but I'm afraid we'll have to get going.' Hannibal signalled for Face and BA to get into the truck, both men complied, then a mischievous smile appeared on his lips, 'After all, a ranch isn't going to run itself.' He jumped in and shot the door. With that, BA started the engine.

'You won't get away with this!' Jones called out.

'Looks like we already have.' Hannibal laughed.

'Hey, mind if I drive?' Murdock asked as Jerry was about to get into the drivers seat.

He shrugged, 'Sure why not?' Then handed Murdock the keys.

Bill got in the back with Janise and Timmy; and Jerry sat besides Murdock, who started up the car.

'Just mind how you go though, we got a young'un in the back don't forget.'

'I'll try.' Murdock replied as he began following his teams truck, he saw Greys men getting into their own truck through the mirror.

'Awww, but I wanna go real fast like…' Timmy began.

'Superman!' His family finished his sentence for him in unison, making Timmy giggle loudly.

'You sure like your superheroes.' Murdock smiled.

* * *

**TBC

* * *

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who has read or reviewed this story so far :)


End file.
